Rotary felting machine



F., C. STURGIS ROTARY FELTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15', 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l 34' l 6 I J4' n 'g5/ A I l I 441 l v 2? 'f f8f l 40 V5 e4 44 Jr J7 33- 33 Inl y d l INVENTOR..

ATTORNEXY F. c. sTuRGls ROTARY FELTING MACHINE "ulysl, 192s. 1,679,100

Filed Sept. 15, 1927 3 She'etS-Sheet 2 July 31', 192s. 1,619,100 F, c. sTuRGls ROTARY FELTING MACHINE Filed sept.15, 1927 5 sheets-sheet 5 4 INVENTOR 3 BY 'y ,5 M

/ ATTORNEY.:

Patented July 31, 19238.

UNITED STATESl FREDERICK C. STURGIS, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.'

ROTARY FELTING MACHINE.`

Application filed September 15, 1927. Serial No. 219,6'53.

This invention relates to telting machines, and is concerned particularly with felting machines of the rotary type as compared with those of the fiat plate type. In this lat.- ter term of teltingl machine, the carded hair -or other fibre is placed between two heavy liat plates, one or both of which are given a reciprocating or rotary motion or al Ycom,- bined reciprocating and rotating motion whereby the fibres or strands of the felt material are worked into a homogeneous sheet of telt by the combined pressure and friction vproduced between these ,moving plates. The coacting surfaces oi the plates are usually roughened or waftled to procure an increased frictional effect and are usually heated by suitablofmeans snch as steam or hot. air. These flat plate ielting' machines have been satisfactory heretofore, but are open to a number ot manufacturing,r objections. For example, it is usually desirable to make the telt in large and long sheets, so that in order to produce sheets of this size, the flat plate machine must be a f 'heavy and massive alilair which occupies a large floor space. F urthermore, such machinese-an only operate intermittently since they must be opened wh-en the felt sheet is finished and charged with a new layervot carded telt material belore they can Aagain be placed into operation. In addition to the loss of time and labor involved this intermittent operation is further objectionable in that the successive sheets ot telt produced by the machine are frequently not of unitorni quality and texture due to non-com tinuous and non-unit`orm operation. other objections to the ilat plate machineis the comparatively arge amount of power which these machines require as well .as

labor involved in their operation.

In 'the machine of this `inventioi'i the ob jections attendingv the use and operation of the iiat plate feltinp` machine have been eliminated. The present machine is compact, occupying considerably less floor space thi-inthe itat plate machine, and is much lighter in weight.` lts operation is continnous and automatic, requiring` only a continuous supply of carded felt material, while the fniished telt emerges from the machine as a continuous sheet ot" uniforni'width and density. inasmuch as the machine forms each portion of felt. in the sheet in the saine way and under the same conditions, a uni- -form grade of felt is obtained for each por- Among long it may be.

In its preferred embodiment, the machine of this invention consists essentially of a series of heated itelting rollers which engage' the periphery of and rictionallyA drive a tion ot the continuous sheet, no matter how heated central cylinder, this cylinder-being between the telting rolls, -cylinder and apron` effecting the advancement of the teltinate-v rial which is simultaneously worked-,by the rotary and axial motion between therolls and thecylinder into a homogeneous she-et of felt. Means are provided for adjusting the pressure between the rolls and the cylinder ior procuring:r ar predetermined felt density, as well as means for supplying)l steam to the rolls and cylinder and for removing the water of condensation therefrom.

For a better understanding of the inven-V tion referenceis made to the accompanying drawings in which,

y Fig. l is the plan view of the telt-ingma.- chine of this invent-ion; Fig. 2 is a transverse cross sec-tion of themachine taken along line 2 2 ot Fig'. l; Fig. 3 is an endview ot the machine; F ig. 4 is a cross-sectional end Vview taken along line 4 4 of' Fig. l; Fig. 5y is a longitudinal crossy section of the machine taken along line 5 5 of Fig. l: Fin' a view of the telting rolls and cylind r showing the axial displacement of the central cylinder; F ig. 7 is a longitudinal section oi one ol the telting rolls; 8 and are cross sections ot one oi' the telt-ing rolls shown in two different angularpositions, and Fig; l0 illustrates a modih'ed form vol supports tor the telting rolls. t f

In these drawings numeral l0 designates the base upon which the machine is mounted by means o t suitable feet ll, these ieet being extended'at each end of the machine to sup ply a support for diiterent portions oit the operating` mechanism. Projectingl 'upward are a pair ot end iframes 1S which support the journals 14 of the 'felting rolls l5 while the large central cylinder' 16 is supported at each. end bv 'folies 17 and 17 dis aoed in slots formed in uprightv i'ianges 34 and 34', respectively, whici connect leet 1l to side frames 13.4 If desired, yokes 17 and17 may be made integral wither directly supported on the frame.

As shown especially in Fig. 2, the felting rolls are arranged circumferentially around the outer surface of large cylinder 16. One form of mounting` these rolls 15 is illust-rated in F ig. 10, in which journals 14 carry rods 18 which are slidable in apertures in plate 19, a relatively stiff coil spring 16 being arranged between plat-e 19 and journal 14. instead of springs 16, any other equivalent pressure means may be employed, such as air or hydraulic cylindc and the like. In this way the journals 14 of rolls 15 are resiliently supported, and the rolls are selfadjusting with respect to the surface of cylinder 16. j may be mounted in the ends of rods 18', and a passage formed through these rods to journals 14, whereby the latter may be lubricated. In anotherform of support for rolls 15 they are positivelylocated and may be radially adjusted with respect to the cylinder fi 16 by means of studs 18 which are threaded into plates 19 arranged around the ends of the machine and supported by frames` 13. These studs 18 engage the journals 14 of rolls 15 sothat they may be adjusted to procure the pressure desired between rolls 15 and cylinder 16 as is apparent in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. These rolls 15 are hollow and their f axles 20 and 21 are also made hollow for the passage of steam. This construction is also employed in large cylinder 16 which is provided with hollow axles 22 and 23 in a similar manner.

In order to heat the rolls 15 and cylinder 16, their respective hollow axles are fittedv with lpipes 24 at one side of the machine and similar pipes 25 at the other side of the machine. Pipes 24 are connected to a manifold or header 26 to which steam is supplied from a suitable source by way .of pipe 27, while pipes 25 at the opposite side of the machine are connected to manifold or header 28 provided' with a suitable drain pipe 29. Inasmuch as all of the rolls are adapted to rotate the joints connecting pipes 24 and 25 to them are slip joints so as to permit this rotation.

The driving moans for the machine preferably comprises an electric motor 30 which drives shaft 31 by means of pinion 32 and meshing gear 33. This shaft 31 is suitably journaled in upright flanges 34 which connect feet 11 to one of the side frames 13. The end of shaft 31 which is opposite the motor is provided with a worm 35 which meshes with a worm wheel 36 mounted on the end of cross shaft 37. This cross shaft 37 is journaled in brackets 38 and 33 which are securely fastened to the upright flanges 34 and 34, respectively, which support sideV frames 13 upon feet 11.

As shown in Fig. 1 shaft 37 is provided If desirable, lubricant cups t9V 4nemico with two spaced sprockets 39 and 39 'disposed at opposite sides of the machine. These sprockets are connected by flexible drive chains 40 and 40 to similar sprockets 41 and 41 respectively securely mounted on opposite ends of axles 21 and 20 of one of the small rolls 15 so that this roll is ydriven from shaft 37. Sprockets 41 and 41 are provided with integral sprockets 42 and 42 and these sprockets are connected to similar sprockets 43 and 43 securely mounted on the axles 21 and 20 of the remaining rolls 15 by means of endless ilexible chains 44 and 44. As shown in Fig. 4 an idler sprocket 45 is mounted at each end ofthe machine and around which chains 44 and 44 pass. This sprocket is restrained by means of a coil spring 46 against chains 44 and 44 so as to take up the slack in the chains and maintain them at a constant tension.

As shown particularly in Fig. 6 the rolls 15 are provided with circular .grooves while the cylinder 16 is waftled in order to procure a greater frictional eifect between them. interposed between therolls 15 and cylinder 16, however, is a flexible apron 47 made of burlap cloth or other suitable material, thisV apron enveloping rolls 15 in the manner shown in Fig. 2, so that, as rolls 15 rotate, apron 47 is continually advanced relatively to cylinder 16. The friction between the rolls 15 which are driven as a unit and cylinder 16 causes the latter to be driven at the same peripheral rate that the rolls are driven. In addition to the rotary motion imparted to cylinder 16, it is given a reciproeating motion so that it moves end to end relatively to rolls 15.` This reciprocation is obtained by mfeans of an eccentric 48 mounted on drive shaft 31, as shown in Fig. 5. The eccentric strap 49 is suitably connected to a rocker 50 the lower end of which is journaled in a bracket 51 secured to foot 11. The free end of rocker 50 is bifurcated so as to embrace extended aide 23 of cylinder 16, the aXle 22 and 23 being journaled for axial freedom of movement. If desired, an equivalent 'driving arrangement may be employed, such as connecting the eccentric directly to the repicrocatory shaft 23, instead of through the rocker 50. Accordingly, as the machine operates, eccentric 48 imparts a reciprocating motion to cylinder 16 while rolls 15 by their frictional contact with cylinder 16 drive the latter in a rotary direction. In order to allow for this axial movement of cylinder 16 steam pipes 24 and 25 at each end of cylinder 16 are made of flexible material. This reciprocating movement of cylinder 16 relative to rolls 15 is illustrated in an exaggerated way in Figs. 5 and 6, it being understood that the reciprocation is equal in both axial directions.

In order to remove the water of condensation of the steamintroduced into rolls 15 1,679, loof bymeans of steam pipes 24 mechanical dippers are disposed Within the rolls 15. These mechanical dippers are illustrated in Figs 2, 5 and 7 to 9 inclusive and consist of angle pieces 52 which are welded or otherwise attached alongk their edges to the interior surfaces of the rolls. 52 are similary attached to the. ends of the rolls while the central edges of the angles are placed to substantially coincide with the axes of the rolls, so that steam entering from tubes 24 may have free ingress and the spentsteam emerging from tubes 25 may have free egress. The lower'e'dges of angles 52 are notched or slotted at 53 in that side which is placed in the direction of rotation of the rolls. Accordingly, theY water formed by condensation of the steam enters the trough formed by angle irons 52 by way of slots 53 when these angle irons are inthe position illustrated in Fig. 8, and as the rolls rotate the water entering slots 53 is scooped up by angles 52. Vhen these angles are placed in the position illustrated in Figs. 7 and 9 the water will flow therefrom into discharge tubes 25, the outer end of angle 52 being provided with a suitable lip 5.4 which insures that the water flows intol tubes 25 and will not return to the rolls. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5-the same construction is shown for cylinderl 16 except that Vangle 52 is of larger size. v

As shown in Fig. 2 the carded felt ma tei'ial 55 is supplied to the machine from a horizontal table 56, the felt material 55 being introducedV between cylinder 16 and Hex ible apron 47, this flexible apron coacting with the surface of the cylinder to draw theA feltmaterial 55 between them. VAs the linished felt strip 57 emerges from the machine it is conducted along a lower platform 58 and is then rolled upon a mandrel in the form of a roll or the like.

In operation, the carded felt material 55 is continually supplied to table 56 andis drawn cylinder 16 and at the .same time it is worked into a homogeneous mass of felt by virtue of the rubbing action obtained by the recipio f eating movement between the cylinder 16 and several rolls 15, this action being aided by heat and pressure. Accordingly, as cylinder 16 rotates and apron 47 advances `the felt material 55 is continuously advanced until it emerges from the last roll and from apron 47 in the form of dense and homogeneous felt 57. The heating medium for the rolls and cylinder is preferably steam which is supplied to header or manifold 26 by means of steam pipe 27 from which it passes by way of tubes 24 into rolls 15 and also by-way of flexible4 tube 24 into cylinder 16. Accordingly these rolls and cylinder are mainrIhe ends of the angles tained at even temperature and the heat' is transmitted to the felt as it passes between them. Since heat is abstracted from the steam, condensationwilltake place and in order to remove this water the dipper `52 in rolls 15 and dipper p52 in cylinder-16 come into action upon each revolution 4of rolls 15 and cylinder'16, whereby the lwateris discharged from rolls 15 by way offtubes 25 and from cylinder 16 by way of'tubes' 25. `Whatever Vuncondensed steam remains also passes out by way of tubes 25 and'25 into header or manifold28 from which it is subactionbetween the rolls and the cylinder it` is important that each roll be driven at a uniform rate, which rate iscommon for all rolls. In order to eliminate such differences in the actionof theY several'rolls which mayoccurbecause of slack inthe driving chains 44 and 44, a slack adjusting mechanismis provided in the way of idler`45 and its accompanvingtcnsion spring 46.* By means of this idler, chains 44 and 44" yarev main-gv tained atthe uniform tension so that` they.:

relative effect of the several rolls` 15 `is con'- sta-nt.

It will be seen that the rotary felting ma-` chine of this invention provides numerous advantages over those heretofore employed. This machine is compact, occupying conT siderably less space th'anfthose in present use, and ismuch lighter in weight.` Iiiasmuch asthe machine operates continuously, no time is lost for recharging, norV is it necessary. to employ more thanone operator for several machines, whereas inthe flat plate` type of machine several operators were ref quired for each time that the machine 'had to be periodically recharged in order to con-y tinue the felting operation. Furthermore, inasmuch as the machine is continuous and operates uniformly, a felt of uniform quality and density is obtained/in unlimited'supply, whereas in those machines that hadto be recharged periodically this uniform felt could not beobtained.

'I claimzf l 1. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a'cylinder, a plurality of pres' sure rolls engaging the surface of the cylinder, means for driving said rolls atthe same speed, said cylinder being driven by friction by the rolls, nand `means-for imparting a reciprocating axial movement to said cylinder.

2. In a rotary felting mach-ine, thle com-v bination ofva cylinder, a plurality of pres-V sure rolls engaging the surface of th'efcylinr` der, means for-driving said rolls at thesame speed, said cylinder being driven by friction by the rolls, a liexible apron enveloping the rolls and passing between them and the cylinder, and means for imparting a reciprocating relative movement between the rolls and the cylinder.

3. In a rotary felting machine, the combinationof a cylinder, a plurality of pressure rolls engaging the surface of the cylinder, means for driving said rolls at the same speed, said cylinder being driven by friction by the rolls, `means for supplying a heating agent severally tothe rolls and cylinder, and means for imparting a reciproeating relative movement between the rolls and the cylinder.

4. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a cylinder', a plurality of pressure rolls eno'aging the surface of the cylinder, means for driving said rolls at the same speed, said cylinder `being driven by friction by the rolls, means for supplying steam severally to the rollsl and to the cylinder, and devices in each roll and cylinder for removing the water of condensation.

5. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a cylinder, a plurality of rolls spaced around and engaging the surface of the cylinder, driving means jointly connected to the rolls, a source of power, connections between said source and one of the rolls, the cylinder beingdriven by friction from said rolls, and mechanism driven from said source for imparting reciprocating motion to said cylinder.

6. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a cylinder, aA plurality of rolls spaced around and engaging the surface of the cylinder, driving means .jointly connected to the rolls, a source of power, connections between said source and one of the rolls, the` cylinder being driven by friction from said rolls, and a slack eliminating device ,for the driving means of the rolls.

7. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a cylinder, a. plurality of rolls spaced around and engaging the surface of the cylinder, driving means jointly connected to the rolls, a, source of power, connectic-ns between said source and one ofthe rolls, the cylinder being driven by friction from said rolls, and means for adjusting the radial positions of each of said rolls relative to the surface of the cylinder.

8. In a. rotary felting machine, the com-` bination of a cylindeiya plurality of rolls spaced around and engaging the surface of the cylinder, driving means jointly connected to therolls, a source of power, connections between said source and one of the rolls, the cylinder being driven by friction from said rolls, and steam inlet and .outlet tubes connected to opposite ends ofeach roll and the cylinder.

v9. In a rotary felting machine, the comi-1 bination 'of a ycylinder,a plurality of rolls spaced around andengaging the surface of the cylinder, drivingj means jointly connect-- ed to therolls, a source of power, connections between said source and one of the rolls, the cylinder' being driven by friction from said rolls, steam inlet and outlet tubes connected to opposite ends of each roll and the cylinder, and means in said rolls and cylinder for removing the water of condensation.

lO. In a rotary felling machine, the combination of a. hollow cylinder, a series of hollow rolls engaging the surface of the cylinder, sprockets on said rolls, a. driving' chain engaging each sprocket, a second sprocket on one of the rolls, a chain driving said second sprocket from a source of power whereby all rolls are driven, the cylinder being` driven frictionally by the rolls, a flexible apron enveloping the rolls and passing between them and thecylinder, and mean I; for introducing felt Amaterial between the apron and the cylinder.

f ll. In a rotary felting machine, the combinationof a. hollow cylinder, a series of hollow rolls engaging the surface of the cylinder, sprockets on said rolls, a driving chain engaging each sprocket, a second sprocket on one of the rolls, a chaindriving said second sprocket from a source of power whereby all rolls are driven, the cylinder being driven frictionally by the rolls, a flexible apron enveloping the rolls and passing between them and the cylinder, and means for imparting a. relative axial reciprocation between therolls and the cylinder.

l2. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of al hollow cylinder, a series ofhollow rolls engaging the surface of the cyinder,r sprockets on said rolls, a vdriving` chain engaging each sprocket, a. second sprocket on one of the rolls, a chain driving said second sprocket fromi a source ofpower whereby all rolls are driven, the

cylinder being driven frictionally by the` rolls, a flexible apron envelopingthe rolls and passing between them and the cylinder, and means for adjusting the space between each roll and the cylinder.

13, In a. rotary felting machine, the com,- bination of a hollow cylinder, a series of hollow rolls engagingv the surface of the cylinder, sprockets on said rolls, a driving chain engaging each sprocket, a second sprocket on one of the rolls, a chain driving said second sprocket Vfrom a source of power whereby all rolls are driven, the cylinder being driven frictionally by the rolls, a flexible apron enveloping the rolls and passing' between them and the cyinder, pipes for introducing steam to each roll and the cylinder, and pipes for removingV spent and condensed steam from ea-ch roll and the cylinder. Y

14. In a rotary felting machine, the combination of a hollow cylinder, a series of holilu) 10W rolls engaging the surface of the. oylinder, sprockets on said rolls, aA driving chain engaging each sprocket, a second sprocket on one of the rolls, a. chain driving said 5 second sprocket from a Source of power whereby all rolls are driven, the cylinder being driven friotionally by the rolls, 2L flexible apron enveloping the rolls and passing between them and the cylinder, means for conducting steam through'each roll and 10 the cylinder, and means .for removing the. Water of condensation from each roll and the cylinder.

. In testimony whereof IraiIiX my signature.

FREDERICK C. STURGIS. 

